8:30am Sunday 10th August 2008
By Suruchi Sharma
A serial burglar who admitted committing 130 offences has avoided a custodial sentence by being accepted on a rehabilitation programme.
Mark Hall, 31, of Shenley Road, Boreham-wood, was due to be sentenced last Friday at St Albans Crown Court after pleading guilty to the crimes, which included domestic burglary and car thefts, committed since 2004.
Out of the 130 crimes, 30 were committed in the Borehamwood area, the rest in and around north London.
Hall would have been given a minimum mandatory sentence of three years imprisonment but instead had his sentence deferred for six months and was formally accepted onto the Choices and Consequences (C2) programme.
C2 requires criminals to change their lifestyle, give up any addiction they might have and to seek and remain in employment.
Detective Inspector Stuart Campfield said: “Hall admitted committing the burglaries which otherwise would not have been detected.
“He made these admissions to give him a fresh start to turn his life around.
“In doing so, some reassurance has been provided to the victims of those burglaries, who have been informed of progress in this case.
“Since June with intervention from C2, Hall is working full-time and is committed to being on the programme.
“It is not a soft option, it is a long-term project designed to rehabilitate offenders — rather than them coming out of prison and falling back into a life of crime.
Det Insp Campfield added that if Hall re-offends, he will return to court to receive a long custodial sentence for the offences he has admitted.
He said: “Effectively he has the threat of a lengthy custodial sentence hanging over his head for the entire length of the programme.
“He can be sent to prison if he returns to offending or does not comply with the intensive requirements of the programme which is supervised by Hertfordshire Probation Service and supported by DIP (Drug Interven-tions Programme).
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